Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
- A large cast of eccentric non-player characters, as well as an invocative soundtrack designed to match the varied game environments and gameplay
- More than 165 new puzzles weave seamlessly into the storyline, challenging player with fun, brain-teasing logic puzzles and riddles, and even new types of puzzles
- This game features significantly more hand-drawn animated sequences and voice acting than the previous installment of the series
- Players who are still stumped with a puzzle after three subtle hints can select the new “superhint” option to point them toward a solution
- As with previous incarnations in the franchise, weekly downloadable puzzles will be available after launch for a limited time
Professor Layton receives a letter asking for help from Luke. The strange thing is that this letter is from 10 years in the future, and the Luke in question is not Professor Layton’s young apprentice, but rather his older self. According to the future Luke, the London of the future has been brought to the brink of ruin by Professor Layton’s future self, who is the head of the largest crime syndicate in town. It seems the only man who can save London and stop the evil Professor Layton of the future is Professor Layton himself.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is a unique puzzle adventure for Nintendo DS and DSi in which the player reveals the game’s story and unravels its mystery little by little with each puzzle successfully solved. The third US release in the popular Professor Layton game franchise, Unwound Future contains the same addictive gameplay, hand-painted art style graphics and invocative music as its two predecessors, making it a must-have title for both new puzzle players and longtime fans of the series. Additional features include: 165 built-in puzzles, easy to use hint and game save systems and additional puzzles available for download on a weekly basis for a limited time following game launch.
Story
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future places the professor and his trusted apprentice Luke at the center of a spellbinding adventure after they receive a strange letter – sent by Luke 10 years in the future. According to this message something is askew in the days to come. The London of the future is in chaos and disarray, and according to Luke, the only person who can help set things right is Professor Layton.
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Gameplay
Like all games in the Professor Layton series Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is a single player puzzle adventure. Puzzles are essentially brainteasers touching on a large variety of puzzle types, including spatial orientation, logic, riddles and many more. The game’s story reveals itself as the player successfully solves a minimum number of puzzles that she/he faces using the DS stylus to move throughout the game’s hand-drawn style game environments. Success at puzzle solving earns the player in-game coins. A certain number of coins can also found by simply exploring the game environment. Players are given multiple chances to solve puzzles and when stuck can choose to spend coins in order to buy hints. The game keeps track of puzzles found, puzzles solved, the player’s score and playing time, and features easy-to-use save functionality, a journal for note keeping and an area to save items found for later use. In addition to the game’s 165 built-in puzzles, additional puzzles will be available for download on a weekly basis for a limited time after game launch.
Key Game Features
- More than 165 new puzzles weave seamlessly into the storyline, challenging player with fun, brain-teasing logic puzzles and riddles, and even new types of puzzles
- This game features significantly more hand-drawn animated sequences and voice acting than the previous installment of the series
- Players who are still stumped with a puzzle after three subtle hints can select the new “superhint” option to point them toward a solution
- As with previous incarnations in the franchise, weekly downloadable puzzles will be available after launch for a limited time
- A large cast of eccentric non-player characters, as well as an invocative soundtrack designed to match the varied game environments and gameplay
Additional Screenshots
165 brain-teasing puzzles.
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In-game hint system.
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Eccentric characters.
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Additional downloadable puzzles.
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Rating: 
(out of 20 reviews)
List Price: $ 29.99
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Review by S. Gargolinski for Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
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The latest entry in the Professor Layton series is pretty much the perfect portable game, assuming of course that you’re into puzzle solving. It’s fun and quick to pick up and play, with high production values and a ton of content. If you’ve played earlier entries in the series, then you won’t be too surprised by this one – it follows a fairly similar formula. Professor Layton and Luke (his faithful assistant) travel to London in order to see a demonstration of a brand new invention: the Time Machine. Things go a little haywire with the demonstration, and then a few days later the Professor receives a letter in the mail from Luke – sent from 10 years in the future! This kicks off a whole adventure of puzzle solving, and things only get crazier from there.
This game has 12 chapters, and a total of 165 puzzles – which should be enough to keep anyone busy for a while. There’s a hint system available in case you get stuck, just like previous entries in the series. As you play through the game, you’ll collect coins that can be used to purchase hints if you’re having trouble with a puzzle. If you’re REALLY stuck then you can buy a super hint – which is a new addition to the series and pretty much just tells you the answer to the puzzle. So don’t worry too much about getting stuck and frustrated.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is a lot of fun to look at. They did a fantastic job with the art style and animation, and there’s even some decent voiceover work. If you’re a fan of the Professor Layton series then you should pick this game up immediately. If you haven’t played any of the previous entries and you’re into puzzle game, then definitely give this one a shot. You don’t need to know about any of the previous games in order to enjoy it, and it really is one of the more polished DS games available.
Review by kindred spirit for Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
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I got this yesterday and played for 3 hours straight without noticing time passing. Funny because it is about time travel. There are so far no repeat puzzles and they are challenging. I love the story line of Luke and the professor traveling to the future. The animation is the best yet. There are a lot more scenes where Luke and the Professort talk just like a video and some of the scenes are like a movie of real London.
If you like games that challenge your brain and have a story line to follow this it is. I mastered the first edition and I am almost done with the Diabolical Box one but seem to be stuck in a loop on the train. You still search for hidden coins and talk to people you will recognize from former games. There are 165 puzzles and at the end you can unlock hidden content more games just like the last two.
Love it! Professor Layton fans don’t miss this one it is truly the BEST!
Review by Heather Babb for Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
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NOTE: this review is spoiler free, so if you’ve played through the game and wonder why I refer to a person or place, etc., by a certain title, know I am trying not to spoil it for others.
Let me just say-WOW! These games never fail to stun me with their awesomeness! Beautiful artwork, great stories, excellent vocal work are all things that make these games some of my favorites. And this one blows the first two out of the water.
First of all, the graphics are just gorgeous. Unique, quirky, and beautiful, particularly for the graphically-challenged DS. But Layton takes the small, pixelated screens and turns them into works of art.
The characters! OMIGOODNESS! The characters are so lovable it’s impossible not to fall in love with them. This game boasts more of the trademark bizarre people the series has been known for. People of all sects of life populate the world of future London. Some of the voice acting is simply stunning. Despite the fact that Luke and Flora sometimes make me want to stuff cotton in my ears, the rest of the cast is superb. Layton is charming and gentlemanly as ever. But it’s the new characters that really touched my heart. Dr. Stahngun’s emotion-filled voice was a delight to listen to. Celeste was so real and pleasant that I wanted to cry. My absolute FAVORITE was future Luke. He was simply fantastic. At one point he screams, “It won’t end this way!” and I actually got the chills.
The story and cutscenes are simply brilliant. Although I admit I figured out a few of the game’s little twists, it was still awesome to watch all of the complex mysteries come together. The cutscenes are works of art. I loved how most of this game was character driven and you got to see some backstory. Score is fantastic, animation is stunning, everything is just great great great!
I marvel how the makers of this game continue to bust out hundreds of new puzzles. All of them are fresh and meld seamlessly into the story. I admit that the vast number of slide puzzles made me want to scratch out my own eyes at times, but I loved them nonetheless.
Overall, a great game. If you haven’t played this series, you are missing out on a real work of art.
Review by Guillaume A. for Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
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I’ve been a fan of the Layton series since the very first episode- I find they way they blend storytelling with puzzles to be great.
This episode doesn’t disappoint- the music and graphics are extremely refined, and the story is just as engaging as in the past. It is a bit darker, complex and subtle though, but I personally find it only adds to the quality of the storytelling.
My only complaint would be that the variety of the puzzles hasn’t been much renewed since the first episode- I really hope that this aspect of the series get worked on (keep in mind the 5th Layton will be out on the 3DS, and the trailer does seem to indicate greater variety in the puzzles)
I would recommend that game to anyone older than 11-12 with a curious mind – younger children might get frustrated on some of the harder puzzles, and the huge quantity of text to read.
Review by L. Brenner for Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
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This game was my first time playing the Professor Layton series and I was truly impressed. I can’t put my DS down when I’m playing it! The only drawback for me is that the story moves a little slow at times. I find myself wanting to go from puzzle to puzzle instead of reading/listening to the story, but if I did that I would miss the point of the game now wouldn’t I? I would definitely recommend buying this game for anyone who loves puzzles. It’s great for anyone 8 to 80! I will definitely be buying the other games in the series.